


Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery

by Athaerys



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, M/M, Rating May Change, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25276858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athaerys/pseuds/Athaerys
Summary: Shulk has the ability to make scarily accurate impressions, much to the chagrin (and love) of Egil
Relationships: Egil & Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles), Egil/Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MachineryField](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MachineryField/gifts).



> Hehehe, happy birthday Bella officially!!  
> I hope you enjoy this fluff <33  
> Im so happy to have met you and become friends, everyday you manage to cheer me up and have helped me with my writing so much 
> 
> No guarantees for a time period of when Ill update this, itll just update when I can update it

The time Egil finds out about Shulk’s uncanny ability to mimic sounds, it almost gives him a heart attack, metaphorically speaking. After months of working together on projects, he thought he knew all of Shulk’s quirks. He was wrong. 

Egil and Shulk, after the entire conflict between the Bionis and Mechonis finished, were almost inseparable. The two of them would spend many days cooped up in their labs, working on some new idea or repairing whatever item a colony resident needs fixing. Most of the time their work was haphazardly split between the two labs, with notes to one project being in a different lab than the blueprints or prototype. It was just how they worked.

Shulk was currently in Egil’s lab in Agniratha, working on repairs to an Offensive Security Unit mechon. The Machina named the malfunctioning mechon Splendid Botis after it recently went rogue and started attacking the villagers remaining on the Fallen Arm. Egil would usually be the one to repair Mechon, however he was otherwise preoccupied with the restoration of the rest of Agniratha and couldn’t be in the lab at the moment. He trusted Shulk and his abilities in the lab to be able to handle a simple repair job by himself. 

Unknowing to him, It was not a simple repair job, and the mechon had so many errors it took a majority of the day to get it back up and running. By the time Shulk had finished, the day was ending and Egil was returning to the lab to make sure Shulk didn’t pass out in it again. It was at least once a week he would come back to the lab they’re working in and see Shulk asleep on the worktable, head resting on his arm and a slight pool of drool around him. 

It was charming to Egil seeing Shulk get so focused on a project, however it did worry him when the homs didn’t eat due to this hyperfixation in his work. He figured Shulk forgot to eat yet again, so the Machina stopped by one of the reopened cantinas on the way back to the lab and grabbed a meal. It was something simple, but he knew Shulk didn’t particularly care for taste in general, so he got a simple dinner without vegetables. 

Walking through a partially restored Agniratha after everything that has happened was almost cathartic to the Machina mechanic. After years of destroying, seeing the capital he grew up in being rebuilt was something he thought he’d never see happen. But here he was, actively aiding in the reconstruction and working alongside his former nemesis not only as friends but lovers as well. It was a strange thought, allowing himself to open up to someone again. But he was a different person now, and wanted to be better. 

During this impromptu self-reflection, Egil had mindlessly wandered all throughout Agniratha. Through the old residential district where he and Vanea grew up, through the old parks where families used to gather, past the old capitol building that became the hub for the reconstruction effort. It was nearby the old capitol building where Egil’s lab was situated. 

He had just turned around a corner and into the hallway that contained his lab when he heard a noise that immediately had him sprinting down towards his lab, food forgotten on the floor. It was a sound that he never wanted to hear around Shulk, or anyone he cared about for that matter.

“*Chririp!*”

“SHULK!” Egil screams as he runs through the doors to the lab, immediately scanning the area for the source of the noise. Even though he doesn’t see the mechon, he instinctively pulls Shulk away from the lab tables and hides the Homs behind his back. 

“Egil?! What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Shulk, where was the mechon you were working on? The Offensive Security Unit?” There was a strain in Egil’s voice as he continued looking around the lab for the source of the noise. Even as he calmed down, Shulk was always kept within arm’s reach.

“Splendid Botis? It was sent back down to the Fallen Arm around thirty minutes ago. I was just cleaning up the lab before going out to find you.” Shulk replied, scratching behind his head, still confused and worried why Egil suddenly appeared yelling his name.

“Then… then what caused the mechon self-destruct bootup noise?”

“Ohh, so that’s what that noise was!” Shulk’s expression immediately brightened as the engineering side of him realised what happened, completely ignoring the fact that he almost died again. “I was working on Splendid Botis when that chirp went off after accidentally cutting the wrong wire. I thought it was a fun noise and wanted to see if I could replicate it myself.”

Egil was dumbfounded at the fact that his boyfriend both completely ignored the fact he almost died, again, and that he could even make such a noise. “Are you saying that you made that noise?”

“Did I never tell you? I can do imitations of different sounds I hear. I swore I told you before…” Shulk looked genuinely puzzled, he had vague memories of telling Egil late one night while they were working on an emergency repair to an anti-air battery together. 

“No Shulk, you haven’t told me that you had this uncanny ability. I would have remembered if you did. However, it is getting late and the day has been long for the both of us by the looks of it, let’s go home.”

Just by looking at the state of the lab, it was a fair assumption to him that Shulk’s day was long. Oil was everywhere, their shared workspace was entirely taken over by soldering tools, and when Egil looked to the side, he could see that Shulk had pulled up his schematics to the Offensive Security Units. There was even a pile of spare parts next to the table that wasn’t there when he left Shulk this morning. 

“Alright Egil, and I want to say I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” Egil couldn’t help but feel sorry himself for making Shulk worry about him. 

“Nonsense, it’s perfectly ok. But let’s go and get you some food, I assume you haven’t eaten much today by the lack of food containers I see in the lab. Are you ready to leave?” 

“Hahah, you got me there. Yeah, I’m ready to go.” Shulk responded after making sure he’s grabbed all his important belongings. In the end he constantly manages to forget something and it’s always up to Egil to run to the lab at an ungodly hour to grab the oh so important thing. 

Though if it makes Shulk happy, he would gladly do any small task a thousand times over.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, any feedback is appreciated, still a new writer afterall <3


End file.
